N. Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan in apparent show of force

A North Korean TV footage shows an array of missile launches.[Yonhap News Photo]

North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japan before landing in the North Pacific in an apparent show of force that followed fresh UN sanctions in retaliation for the country's powerful nuclear test, military authorities said.

The missile, launched near Pyongyang at 6:57 am (22:57 GMT), flew about 3,700 kilometers (2,294 miles) after surging as high as 770 km, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called a high-level security council. South Korean and US military authorities are analyzing the type of the projectile, which appeared to an intermediate range ballistic missile called Hwasong-12. Japan's media reported the missile appeared to have been launched toward the northeastern region of Japan.

In late August, a Hwasong-12 missile, launched from the Sunan airfield in Pyongyang, overflew the northern territory of Japan and splashed into nearby waters. It traveled more than 2,700 km at a maximum altitude of some 550 km, according to the South's defense ministry.